The Top Three Management Consulting Skills

Now is a great time to enter the world of management consulting, especially if you have experience and expertise to share with the rest of the world. Consulting has been shown to improve struggling businesses in a number of ways, and it's going to become even more crucial in the coming years as new generations of diverse employees enter the workforce. If you love challenges and you have real-world experience to draw from, a career as an independent consultant might be ideal for you. However, it's important to be able to perform a self-assessment. Do you possess the management consulting skills that you'll need in order to find success?

If you're unsure whether you have what it takes to operate successfully as a management consultant, consider the following three skills.

#1 – Communication Skills

The need for this skill may seem obvious, but the ability to communicate is often taken for granted. As a consultant, you'll need to be able to express yourself clearly to top-level managers, but you'll also need to be able to listen to the needs, wants and desires of the rest of the workforce. Communication skills fall under the category of “soft skills,” which are more difficult to develop than other, more quantifiable skill sets. However, they can be developed and improved with time and effort.

As a consultant, you'll need to hone your communication skills in order to be effective. After all, one of your primary tasks will be to help improve the communication skills of the business leaders you work with.

#2 – Vision

When you're working within an organization, that organization tends to become your entire world. Everyone involved starts to look at things in the same way, and certain procedures become entrenched simply because “they've always been done that way.” Change and improvement are difficult because there's an institutional inability to see issues from anything other than a company-centric perspective.

Working as a consultant requires you to be able to supply a strong vision to the leaders you work with. You will be able to enter an organization with a fresh perspective, but you'll need to be able to develop a vision based on your perspective in order to help the company achieve its goals. Your ability to provide a positive, achievable vision will make you incredibly attractive as a management consultant.

#3 – Your Mastery

At the end of the day, becoming a successful management consultant isn't about learning new skills or using the latest tools. The management consulting skills that you'll find most valuable are the skills that you've been building and nurturing over the course of your life and your career. The knowledge you possess, the perspective that you have, the experience that you've built over your career – these are the skills that make you unique, and they are what businesses are looking for when they choose to hire consultants.

There's no doubt that you've mastered a certain set of skills during your time as a professional. Now it's time to hone your skills further so you can use your mastery to help others as an independent management consultant.

Do You Have the Right Management Consulting Skills?

Do you understand the importance of effective communication? Are you able to look at a situation and articulate a clear vision? Have you mastered a set of skills during your professional career? Are you willing to put in the effort necessary to excel in these areas and others? If so, you possess the skills needed to become a successful management consultant.

Are you interested in learning more about the top management consulting skills? Ex3 Matters has a number of terrific resources available. Start with Buddy Hobart's excellent free eBook, “Experience Matters,” then download your free Ex3 Matters Consulting Guides for information and insight that will help you take the next steps in your career.